MLB Playoff Picture 2021: Dodgers Chasing Giants; Cardinals, Braves, Brewers Locked Into NL Bracket

Heading into the final weekend of the 2021 MLB season, the National League playoff picture is almost finalized. All five postseason berths have been clinched, and all that’s left is the matter of seeding.

The Milwaukee Brewers are the NL Central champs and the No. 2 seed. The Atlanta Braves clinched the NL East title and the No. 3 seed Thursday by completing a sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies. The St. Louis Cardinals are locked into the second-wild card spot.

The only drama in the final weekend comes in the NL West, and even that could be resolved by Friday night. The San Francisco Giants have a two-game lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The division champ clinches home-field advantage through the World Series, while the second-place finisher will host St. Louis in the NL Wild-Card Game on Wednesday.

San Francisco’s magic number is two, following their sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Giants defeated the Diamondbacks with a walk-off victory in the ninth inning Thursday, extending their winning streak to six games.

The Giants won 5-4. LaMonte Wade Jr. walked it off to clinch win No. 105. They are more than 50 games over .500 for the first time in 109 years. The magic number to clinch the NL West is two. pic.twitter.com/e4TCIELO8L
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) October 1, 2021

Los Angeles has done its part, sweeping the San Diego Padres on Thursday and winning six of its last seven games. The Dodgers end the season with a three-game home series against the Brewers, while San Francisco hosts San Diego in its final series. The Padres have lost 11 of their last 12 games.

If the Dodgers sweep the Brewers, they would need the Giants to lose two of three games against the Padres in order to finish tied atop the NL West. If Los Angeles loses a game to Milwaukee, the Dodgers need the Giants to get swept.

A first-place tie would force the Giants to host the Dodgers on Monday in a 163rd game. The loser of the tiebreaker would play at home in the wild-card game. The NL West champ will face the wild-card game winner in the NLDS.

FanGraphs gives San Francisco a 90.6% chance to win the division. Los Angeles has won eight straight NL West titles.

Milwaukee is scheduled to have home-field advantage against Atlanta in the NLDS.